Earth mover



| L. HYLER EARTH MOVER Original Filed May 2?, 1944 4 Sheets-Sheet l ZNVENTOR.

r 40/? A /er ML M ATTORNEY.

L. L. HYLER EARTH MOVER Jul 6,1948.

4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Original Filed May 27, 1944 Juiy 6, 1948. L. L. HYLER EARTH MOVER Original Filed ma 27, 1944 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR. L0/:e// L. Hy/er ATTORNEY.

L. L. HYLER EARTH MOVER Jul a, 1948.

4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Original Filed May 27, 1944 INVENTOR. Lo/e L. Hy/er BY ATTORNEY.

Patented July 6, 1948 2,444,612 ma'rniviovan Loiell L. Hyler, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, assignor to La Plant-Choate Manufacturing Company, Incorporated, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, a corporation of Delaware Original application May 27, 1944, Serial No. 537,623. Divided and this application June 18, 1945, Serial No. 600,136

My invention relates to material handling machines and is particularly concernedwith a vehicle-type device capable of excavating, of carrying and of depositing material such as earth. Earth movers are designed to operate under various different working conditions and especially in soils ranging throughout the entire gamut of soil types. It has been the experience that a machine rather satisfactory in one type of soil may prove to be far less satisfactory in another type of soil, and while an earth mover may be generally suitable under ordinary conditions, it may fall short of optimum performance under extreme or adverse conditions. This is markedly true in connection with operations in I very sandy soils or in sand itself. Since sand is far more fluid than other types of materials, it is difficult to load it into a machine and it is especially difficult to load a large amount of sand into a machine. In addition, although a mechanism may be otherwise generally satisfactory, I have found it desirable and advantageous to increase the speed of operation of the various parts in order to permit the machine to be operated through a complete cycle within a relatively short time.

It is, therefore, an object of my invention to provide an earth mover not only capable of satisfactory operations under normal conditions, but also effective under adverse conditions and particularly when utilized with sandy soil or sand.

Another object of my invention is to provide anearth mover in which the cycle of operation is relatively rapid. Y

An additional object of my invention is to provide an earth mover in which the operation of the cutting edge is readily governed by the operator.

' A still further object of my invention is in general to provide an improved earth mover.

These objects, together with others,'will appear from the following description of my invention when taken together with the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of an earth mover constructed in accordance with my invention, the device being shown in an intermediate carrying position. 1

Fig. 2 is a plan of the earth mover of my inven tion in the position shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a diagram showin in side elevation the earth mover in maximum carryin position.

Fig. 4 is a diagram showing in side elevation the earth mover in an intermediate carrying position.

5 Claims. (Cl. 37-426) Fig. 5 is a diagram showing in side elevation the earth mover in another intermediate carry-- ing or in aleveling position.

Fig.' 6 is a diagram showing in side elevation the earth mover in an excavating or cutting po-' sition. I

Fig. 7 is a diagram showing in isometric per-'v spective the cable reeving arrangement for controlling the position of the cutting edge.

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary cross section, the plane of which is illustrated by the line 88 of Fig. 1', part of the figure being broken away to reduce its size. .1

The earth mover of my invention preferably includes a main bowl having a cutting edge and being appropriately ground-supported. To the main bowl is articulated a'yoke frame, likewise appropriately ground-supported. Fastened to the main bowl and to the-yoke frame is a mechanically operated camming mechanism for translating a relatively large amplitude of adjusting motion into a relatively small motion of the cutting edge relative to the yoke frame.

' Although the earth mover of my invention can readily be embodied in numerous variant forms, it is particularly disclosed herein in one principal form also disclosed and described'in the copending application, Serial No. 537,623, filed May 27, 1944, for an Earth mover of which this application is a division. The description herein applies generally to a preferred embodiment of my earth mover. In the particular form selected and'illustrated there is provided a draft tongue 6, partially broken away but of conventional construction, designed to be removably attached'to'a draft implement such as a Caterpillar tractor (not shown). The tractor is of the usual style utilized in connection with'earth movers and'is equipped with power operated winches for releasing or regulating the tension in operating lines, preferably two in number, all under the control of the vehicle operator in the customary fashion. Since these structures are well understood and are standard, they are not illustrated herein.

The draft tongue 6 is appropriately joined toa draft structure I incorporating a front axle at the opposite extremities of which are rotatably mounted pneumatically tired, ground-engaging wheels 8 and 9, respectively. Appropriately'connected to the axle in any desired fashion for ap propriate relative motion therebetween is a yoke frame, generally designated H. The yoke frame is a structure generally symmetrical abouta 1ongitudinal, vertical plane and is suitably fabricated from metallic plates and shapes with the aid of welding. It includes a central mast l2, at its upper end merging with a transverse beam 13, somewhat curved in plan and, extending transversely beyond the tread of the wheels 8 and 9 to merge with side beams 14 and I6, respectively. The two side beams extend downwardly and rearwardly from the transverse beam l3 and end in eyes ll pivotally engaging pins I8 arranged in transverse alignment and firmly mounted at the opposite sides of a main bowl, generally designated I9.

The main bowl is primarily made up of a pair of side walls 2! and 22, respectively, freely upstanding along their rectilinear upper edges 23 and joined along their lower edges with a bottom pan 24, terminating somewhat short of the forward edges of the side walls. Extending along the forward terminus of the bottom pan 2'4 and spanning the space between the side walls 2| and 22 is a downwardly directed cutting edge 26, augmented by a pair of longitudinally extending auxiliary cutters 21 disposed alongzthe lower leading edges of the walls 2! and 22.

The main bowl I!) is appropriately supported not only by the pins l8, but also by connections to a rear axle 28 carrying a pair of pneumatically tired, rear ground-engaging wheels 29 and 3|, respectively. The connections between the walls 2i and 22, the bottom pan 24 and the rear axle 28 are comprised of a plurality of supporting boxes 32 and 33, appropriately connected to the side walls or to braces such as 34. The effect of the construction is to support the main bowl for generally arcuate motion about the axis of the axle 23 as a center, so that the cutting edge 26 is raised and lowered with respect to the ground 36 in a path which is nearly vertical but is, in fact, arcuate.

The raising and lowering motion of the cutting edge 26 when the main bowl is raised and lowered in an arcuate path is accompanied by a comparable motion of the yoke frame ll, itself moving in a generally arcuate path about the axis of rotation of the wheels 8 and 9 when such wheels are in a straight-ahead position. The arcuate motion of the main bowl and the concomitant motion of the yoke frame is readily permitted by the pins l8 and eyes ll, relatively movable about their own axis parallel to the wheel axes. By the nature of this connection, the arcuate, swinging motions of the main bowl and of the yoke frame, being about different Centers, cause a slight longitudinal variation in the vehicle wheel base as the cutting edge is raised and lowered.

In operation generally and in sand, particularly, it is very desirable to rais and lower the cutting edge quickly between its point of maximum cutting depth and a point adjacent the surface of the ground. In practice, the cutting edge is alternately raised and lowered very quickly, being dropped rapidly into the sand so that advantage is taken of the forward momentum of the tractor and earth mover assembly to scoop up a large load. But this operation is quickly followed by a rapid raising of the cutting edge to reduce the excessive load on the tractor in order not to kill the tractor engine. The described rapid up and down motion of the cutting edge is referred to as pumping and is the most eil'ective technique for loading sand and comparable, relatively fluid soils.

In order to provide not only a satisfactory general control for the relatively articulated main bowl and yoke frame, but also an arrangement effective to produce a rapid pumping action under the control of the operator, I provide a special mounting and interconnecting mechanism between the main bowl and yoke frame. This mechanism is in two principal parts, duplicated on opposite sides of the machine so that a description of the structure at one side is equally applicable to the structure on the other side.

The interconnecting mechanism includes a pendant link 31 at one side of the frame and a comparable pendant link 38 at the opposite side of the frame. The link 3'1 at its lower end is pierced by a pivot pin 39 suitably journaled between the forwardly projecting ears of an extension 41 at the lower leading corner of the side wall 2| of the main bowl IS. The intermediate portion of the link 37 is comprised of a pair of spaced plates 42 and 43, respectively, at their lower ends receiving the pin 39 and disposed on opposite sides of the side beam M of the yoke frame I I with sufficient clearance so that the link 31 is readily movable with regard to the box-like side beam 14, yet so that the side beam acts as a guide in the event of excessive transverse stresses being imposed upon the link 31. At its upper end the link 31 is somewhat widened, as shown in Fig. 16, to carry a removable pivot pin 44, removably held in place bya cotter key 46. Mounted on the pin 44 is a rail wheel 41, freely rotatable on the pin 44 and resting upon the enlarged head 48 of a cam rail 49 upstanding from the upper portion of the side beam M. The wheel 4'! is free to roll along the rail 49 as the link 31 pivots about the pin 39.

Pursuant to my invention, the rail 49 is appropriately contoured to define the desired path for the wheel 4'! so that the rail, being somewhat longer than its height, affords a force multiplication and a motion reduction in the nature of a camming action. By virtue of this arrangement, the motion of the wheel 41 fore and aft is made to produce a corresponding but different vertical motion of the pin 39 and, correspondingly of the cutting edge 26, and since identical links 31 and 38 are disposed symmetrically on opposite sides of'the machine, balanced forces are imposed upon the cutting edge and upon the supporting mechanism.

The configuration of the rail 49 is carefully designed in any contour selected for the particular purposes to be met. In the present instance, to obtain the rapid pumping action, that is, a rapid motion of the cutting edge between its lowermost position and an intermediate position, the rearmost approximately one-third of the rail 49 is rather steeply inclined to the horizontal or to the upper edge of the side beam 14. Thus, a relatively small fore and aft motion of the wheel 4'! produces a relatively great vertical motion of the cutting edge 26. This is particularly illustrated in Figs. 5 and 6. The cutting edge in Fig. 5 is a substantial distance above the ground and the rail wheel 41 is at the forward portion of the rearmost ramp 5| of the rail 49. In Fig. 6 the cutting edge is illustrated as being nearly in its lowermost position and the rail wheel 41 is close to the rearmost and lowermost portion of the rear rail ramp 5i. Motion of the rail wheels 41 and-a corresponding oscillation of the links 31 and 38 between the positions shown in Figs. 5 and 6 and over the rearmost ramp positions 5! produces the rapid pumping action of the cutting edge desired.

The intermediate approximately one-third of the rail 49 constitutes a ramp 52 which is approximately parallel with the upper surface of the side beam l4, and is particularly useful in final leveling or grading operations, as in spreading,

sincethe angle is relatively slight, either with respect to the horizontal or with respect to the side beam and an'extended to and fro or fore and aft motion of the rail wheel 41 produces only a very small vertical displacement of the cutting edge 26. Consequently, it is possible very accurately to position the cutting edge with a relatively rough or coarse motion of the supporting links 31 and 3B. This range of motion is particularly illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5. In Fig. 4 the cutting edge is in a relatively high spreading position with the rail wheel 4'! at the higher forward end of the ramp 52. In Fig. 5 the cutting edge is in a somewhat lower spreading position with the rail Wheel 41 at the somewhat lower rearward portion of the ramp 52. While the ramp 5| is not exclusively for pumping and the ramp 52 is not exclusively for leveling, those operations are the usual ones performed in the motion ranges indicated.

Finally, the cam rail 49 isprovided with an additional forward ramp 53 which is inclined at such an angle with respect to the horizontal, or particularly with respect to the side beam l 4, that a very great deal of fore and aft motion of the wheel 41 is productive of only a very little raising and lowering motion of the cutting edge 26. As another attribute of this relationship, very great vertical forces, for example, acting generally downwardly along the length of the links 31 and 38 and due to heavy weights in the main bowl l9, are very largely borne by the rails 46 and side beams I 4 and I6, with relatively slight fore and aft force components to be resisted by the structure holding the links 3'! and 38 in position. Therefore, the ramp 53 is particularly useful, as illustrated in Fig. 3, for holding the main bowl in its carrying or transporting conditions. Even though fully loaded, the main bowl exerts little more rearward force on the supporting links than is necessary to permit the ready return of the structure by gravity from the carrying position. As illustrated in Fig, 3, the camming structure for the main bowl support amounts very nearly to a latch for retaining the main bowl in and near its maximum raised position.

In order to move the links 3'! and 38 fore and aft so that the track wheels 41 roll forwardly and rearwardly over the tracks 49, one of the two cables or lines available from the draft tractor is utilized. As particularly illustrated diagrammatically in Fig. 7, the line 56 that is effective to control the cutting edge 26 extends rearwardly from the tractor and about a guiding sheave 51. This is appropriately mounted on the mast l2 to guide the line 56, yet to accommodate relative motion between the earth mover and the tractor. From the sheave 51 the line 56 extends over a guide sheave 58 mounted on the transverse beam [3 and then passes over a directing sheave 59 disposed adjacent a corner of the transverse beam l3.

Just to the rear of the sheave 59 is disposed in a vertical plane for rotation about a horizontal axis a stationary sheave 6|, co-planar with the innermost one of a pair of sheaves 62 and 63 rotatably mounted on the pin 44 of the link 38. The pair of sheaves 62 and 63 are disposed on opposite sides of the rail wheel 41 and are separated therefrom by intermediate walls 64 and 66 joined to a top wall 61 spanning the side plates 42 and 43 of the link 38.

After passing approximately half-way around the sheave 62 the line 56 then extends around a stationary angled sheave 68 mounted adjacent the forward end of the side beam l6 so that the line is transferred from the lower plane of the inner sheave 62 to the upper plane of the outer sheave 63. After passing approximately half-way around the outer sheave 63, the line then extends around a sheave 69 coaxial with and companion to the sheave 6|, thus completing the reeving for moving the link 38.

If it is considered that the line 56 is held stationary on the sheave 69 and is then tensioned, the resulting effect is to shorten the distance between the pair of sheaves 62 and 63 and the companion sheaves 6| and 69 so that the link 38 is moved forwardly and force is exerted on one side of the machine to lift the cutting edge. When the line 56 is slacked the weight of the parts lowers the cutting edge and withdraws the pair of sheaves 62 and 63 from the vicinity of the sheaves 6| and 69. v

In order to provide a balanced force on the opposite side of the machine, and also to operate the link '31, the same line 56 is extended from the sheave 69. This is accomplished by the provision of a corner sheave H at the top of the transverse beam l3, around which the line extends before passing across the structure to a comparable corner sheave 12' at the opposite corner of the yoke frame. The line then extends over a stationary guide sheave 13 and wraps approximately half-way around the outer one of a pair of sheaves l4 and 16 disposed at either side of the rail wheel 41 at the upper end of the link 31 and journaled to rotate about the axis of the pin 44. From the outer sheave 14 the line 56 extends forwardly around an inclined transverse sheave 11, mounted adjacent the forward end of the side beam M. Then the line passes approximately half-way around the sheave 16 and is gripped on a convenient stationary portion of the yoke frame by a fastening 18. In accordance with usual practice, the line is led from the gripping device 18 to a reel 19 of additional line appropriately disposed on the transverse beam l3. Thus, by tensioning the line 56, equal lifting forces are imparted to the opposite side walls of the main bowl and when the tension is relaxed the main bowl drops by gravity to its former position.

A load can be acquired even if rapid pumping" in sand is necessary and the load can readily be transported with but very little strain on the operating cable, due to the inclination of the ramps 53. A very accurate depth of spreading can be maintained and at the conclusion of the discharge operation the parts can be rapidly restored by gravity and by spring to closed position, ready for resetting and reloading.

I claim:

1. An earth mover comprising a main bowl, a yoke frame mounted to pivot with respect to said main bowl, a plurality of track ramps on said yoke frame, each of said ramps being disposed at a different inclination with respect to said yoke frame, a support arm pivoted on said main bowl, a roller on said support arm, and means for moving said roller over each of said ramps in turn.

2. An earth mover comprising a main bowl, a yoke frame mounted to pivot with respect to said main bowl, said yoke frame including a straight side arm surface, means mounted on said yoke frame constituting a track having different sections at different inclinations with respect to said straight surface, a support fastened to said main bowl and engaging said track, and means for moving said support to engage said different sections of said track.

3. An earth mover comprising a main bowl having a side wall terminating in a forward portion,

l.- a yoke frame having a side arm pivoted with respect to said main bowl rearwardly of said forward portion, a cam mounted on said side arm, said cam having diflerent portions inclined at difierent angles with respect to said side arm, means movable with respect to said side arm for successively engaging said different portions of said cam, means for connecting said movable means with said forward portion of said sidewall,

and means for moving said movable means with respect to said side arm.

4. An earth mover comprising a main bowl, a yoke frame mounted to pivot with respect to said main bowl, a cam track on said yoke frame, said cam track having different portions'disposed at difierent angles .to. said yoke frame, a support fastened to said main bowl and engaging said track, and means for moving said support successively over said diiferent portions to pivot said yoke frame with respect to said main bowl in corresponding different amounts.

5. ,An earth mover comprising a main bowl, a yoke frame mounted to pivot with respect to said REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED I STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,168,318 Brodersen et a1. Aug. 8, 1939 r 2,255,240 Bird Sept. 9, 1941 2,302,335 Low Nov. 17, 1942 

